


Hearts On Your Sleeve

by PigSlay



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Other, POV Multiple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-13 03:18:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3365789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PigSlay/pseuds/PigSlay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>OT5 soulmate AU where the initials of your soulmate appear on your arm, and four sets of initials appear on the boys' arms and they have to try and figure out what that means and how they're going to make this work.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThankYouMerlin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThankYouMerlin/gifts).



> I don’t know One Direction. This is the cutest prompt I’ve ever received to be honest. I hope you enjoy it. :) And yes, Zayn and Niall still live with their parents because I’m not good at writing stories w/o parents so in my head, everybody lives with their parents till the parents die. Also, thank you to Meghan for telling me everything I could ever want to know about therapists, and to Hannah for beta-ing this. Anyway… enjoy.

**Zayn**

He first noticed it when he was eight and the first initials – L.T. – appeared on his arm. He remembers asking his mom what it meant and the smile that formed on her face. “Everybody eventually gets those, honey. They’re the initials of whoever your soulmate is. One day you’ll meet them and fall in love.” She then proceeded to show him his father’s initials on her own arm, and he smiled.

The second time it happened though – when he got L.P. on his arm too – his parents thought something had to be wrong and took him to the doctor. The doctor of course had no idea what was going on. They tried giving him some medicine but it didn’t make either of the initials go away. Quite the contrary, two more initials – N.H. and H.S. – appeared a little while later. He got taken off the medicine, but all four initials still stayed intact. They’re still there even now.

Zayn didn’t see what the big deal was though, if he was honest with himself. He kind of liked the idea of having four soulmates. As he grew older though, he got tired of being laughed at and questioned all the time and started wearing longer sleeved shirts, even in the most burning summers. Even now, he constantly wonders why, why he of all people had to get cursed with whatever this means. He thinks if he ever actually meets any of these four people he’ll probably hate them more than he’ll want to be their ‘soulmate’ or whatever. He’s twenty five years old now though and convinced they don’t actually exist.

Zayn sighs, putting those thoughts away because right now he has other things to do, so he musters up the energy to put on his clothes. The first few times he went out in public with a long sleeved shirt and shorts on he was embarrassed and thought he looked weird, but now he just doesn’t care anymore. People can think what they want. It’s better than the alternative.

He gets in his car and starts driving, his CD playing softly in the background as he does. Zayn’s still not sure why exactly his mom asked him to meet up with this guy. Probably another one of her attempts at “helping” him “feel better” about his “situation”, whatever that means. She does this like once a month – sending him to meet some random person who just _happens_ to also have a job as a therapist to talk to about his “soulmate situation”. It never works, but he goes every time, just because he doesn’t want his mom’s money she spent on the session to mean nothing.

When he finally arrives at the place he starts feeling… nervous. He’s not sure why, but his heart starts beating and it’s like he also feels it in his arm in addition to his heart. He shrugs it off though, getting out of the car and entering the facility.

He walks up to the receptionist desk. “Hi, I’m Zayn Malik. I’m here for an appointment with…” he tries to remember the name “…uh, Niall Horan.”

“Have a seat,” the receptionist says half-heartedly. “He’ll be with you shortly.”

“…Thanks,” Zayn says awkwardly, going to sit down on one of the chairs in the waiting room. He passes the time listening to music in his head since he forgot to bring his iPod, and looking around at the art on the walls.

A few minutes later, he sees someone walking out the front door, and then the receptionist leads him to the room he’s supposed to be in. The receptionist has that sad smile that they always have, the one that makes Zayn want to punch them, but he won’t because that would be rude. It’s the one that says ‘I’m praying for you to get better’. Well, Zayn doesn’t need their prayers.

He closes the door behind himself and sits down on the chair several inches in front of Niall’s desk. After Niall keeps staring at his papers for several minutes though, Zayn clears his throat loudly. Niall looks up at that and blushes. “Sorry. Just finishing filling out some stuff for the other clients.” He gets out a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. “So, what’s your name and how are you feeling?”

It’s slightly less formal than Zayn was expecting, but it doesn’t really matter either way. “I’m Zayn. I feel alright I guess.” He shrugs, not ever sure what to say to these people because despite what his mother thinks, he really doesn’t need any help.

Niall writes something down. It always confuses Zayn when these people do that because he doesn’t ever really say anything, just gives non-answers to things. “Your mum said you’ve been really upset recently.”

Zayn rolls his eyes. “I really haven’t. I’m no more sad than I’ve been my whole life.”

 “Maybe we should talk about that.”

Zayn just stares at him with so much annoyance he’s afraid his eyebrows are going to stick together. “Talk about _what_? See, this is the problem with you people. You assume there’s something wrong with everybody, even when there’s _not_. You don’t know me at all. My mum forced me to come here because she thinks I need it, but guess what? I don’t.” He’s almost hyperventilating now, and he hadn’t even realized he stood up.

As Niall blinks at him, not saying anything, he sits back down, sure he’s going to throw him out now. He doesn’t usually blow up like that, but he’s just so sick of it. Sick of his mom thinking she knows him better than he knows himself, sick of having to listen to people in his family talk about how “concerned” they are about him, and sick of the dumb four initials on his arms that got him here in the first place.

To his surprise though, Niall doesn’t throw him out. Quite the contrary, he starts smiling. “You’re right. I don’t really know you at all. So how about we fix that. What’s your favorite video game?”

Zayn is about to protest again, sure this is some kind of test, but he relaxes instead and answers “probably Mario Kart. Yours?”

“Dude, same here,” Niall responds happily. “Okay, how old are you?”

“Shouldn’t it say that on your sheets or something?” Zayn smirks.

“I don’t know what sheets you’re talking about,” Niall responds fake-innocently, obviously trying to hide a smile.

Zayn laughs because it’s such an obvious lie. He’s been to a million of these therapists and they always have at least a basic sheet on each client; they just ask for their names to be nice. Still, not wanting to be a jerk, he responds “twenty five”.

“Wow, you’re one year older than me,” Niall points out, blinking.

“You’re kidding,” Zayn responds, taken aback. Suddenly he takes a moment to take all of Niall in and realizes he does look extremely young. He must’ve been too caught up in his own inner monologue to really think about Niall’s actual looks, and now that he’s started looking at him, he can’t stop.

Niall has short blonde hair and is wearing a shirt for some sports team Zayn doesn’t recognize, as well as a black coat, and he’s attractive. Goodness, he’s attractive. Zayn definitely isn’t thinking about how attractive his own therapist is though because that would be weird and breaking about a billion unwritten rules.

“Yeah, I’m twenty four,” Niall confirms, pulling Zayn back to reality. His face turns red as soon as he says that though. Something tells Zayn he’s not actually supposed to tell his clients his age. After a few moments of awkward silence though, he clears his throat and keeps asking questions.

They continue like that for the rest of their session, Niall asking questions and Zayn answering them. Zayn learns that Niall’s favorite sport is football and favorite color is red, amoung other things. Mostly though, it’s just Niall learning about Zayn. Zayn enjoys it too. He doesn’t think he’s ever actually liked any of the therapists his mom’s set him up with, but he really likes Niall. He hopes that won’t blow up in his face later, but something about Niall’s smiling face tells him it won’t.

“Well, it was good to meet you Zayn,” Niall says, walking towards Zayn’s chair and extending his hand. Zayn makes it look like he’s about to shake his hand, but then he wraps his arms around Niall and brings him into a hug, which has Niall giggling.

As he continues hugging Niall, he notices that the force of his hug made Niall’s sleeves come up a little bit, and there, on his right and left arms are the initials L.T. and Z.M., respectfully.

 

**Niall**

Niall’s confused. Just a second ago they were embracing happily and fondly and now Zayn’s separating them slowly, looking like he’s just seen a ghost. “It was umm… good to meet you too,” Zayn says awkwardly, and then he’s out the door.

Niall frowns. That was… awkward to say the least. He hopes he didn’t leave a bad impression on Zayn. Listening to what his mom had said on the phone, it sounds like he’s been through a lot of therapists already. Niall had hoped that he would be the one to finally break the streak, but after the way Zayn just left, he’s not sure he did.

He decides to try not to think about it though, because he has his next clients to worry about right now. As he goes through the clients though, he finds it harder to focus than usual because his mind keeps going back to Zayn. He can’t believe this. Why does he even care so much? It’s not like this is the first time he’s been rejected by clients when he thought he’d done a good job. Unless… No, he doesn’t want to think about the ‘unless’. He can’t have a crush on one of his clients, especially not one he’s only known for a day.

“Niall are you even listening to me?” an angry voice yells.

He turns back to reality. It’s Jamie, his 5:00 and last client on Mondays. He tries to remember what she said for the last thirty minutes; something about the people in charge of her show on the travel channel not wanting to give her money to go somewhere? “Sorry, what were you saying?”

Jamie’s offended face makes him immediately regret those words though. She storms out the door, slamming it behind her. His supervisor is probably going to kill him, but whatever. He’s glad to get home early so hopefully he can have a beer and stop thinking about Zayn.

He doesn’t stop thinking about Zayn though and it burns him up inside. It makes his heart beat faster every time he thinks about that gorgeous face. In addition to his heart, he also kind of feels it in his… arm? He frowns, not sure why he would be feeling it there. He looks down at his arm, having already put away his coat when he got home, and sees something odd – the initials Z.M. are moving with his pulse. He doesn’t mean to, but he screams loud and hard.

Suddenly he hears his mom running downstairs and opening the door to the living room. “What’s going on?” She walks over to him and sits down next to him.

“Mum,” he says, breathing hard and getting more freaked out by the second. “I-I was just thinking about someone and then my heart started beating fast and then, look.” He motions to the Z.M. initials on his arm, still vibrating with his pulse, which has gone up a couple times.

“Awww honey.” His mom smiles at him and his hand wants to punch her, but his mind tells him not to. Why is she happy right now? Part of his arm is literally _vibrating_. Shouldn’t she be freaked out too?  She puts her hand on the initials and it’s almost calming. Almost. “It means you’ve found them.”

“…What?” Niall scratches his ear with his right hand, sure he heard her wrong.

“When their initials start beating with your heart, it means you’ve found the person those initials are for. Usually it beats when you’re in the same room as them or when you’re thinking about them.” She smiles again, taking her hand away from his arm.

Suddenly it all clicks in his mind. “Oh no,” he says. “No, no, no. You can’t really mean that. I thought none of these were supposed to actually be real. How can they be? There’s four of them. People are supposed to only have one soulmate, right?”

His mom shrugs. “Actually, that’s not entirely true. There are some people out there who have relationships with more than one person and are way happier than they would be with only one person. Polyamory, I think it’s called.”

Niall’s mouth is just hanging open. Even if that’s true, and he trusts his mom enough to know it probably is, he just can’t have found one of the people yet. He can’t because… “No. I can’t be in a relationship with one of my clients.” The words are out before he can stop them and he brings his hands to his lips, the vibrating part of his left arm feeling weird against his cheek.

“What?” his mom looks at him, but it’s not with anger like he was expecting. It’s more of a concerned face. He’s not sure which one is worse at that moment.

He sighs, moving his arms to his sides again. “This new guy came in today named Zayn Malik. He’s very attractive and very sweet. But… it can’t be him. It just can’t be. I can’t date one of my clients. It’s just not right. I’m pretty sure it’s breaking a billion rules.”

His mom smiles at him sadly. “It is, but hearts – and arms – rarely ever follow rules.” She gives him a hug and then walks out of the room, probably thinking it’s best if he’s alone with his thoughts.

Niall exhales. This can’t really be happening. He’d convinced himself a long time ago that this was just a birth defect that only he has, but the thing his mom said about some people having more than one soulmate – polyamory? – makes him wonder. That night he decides to look it up on the Internet, to feel less alone if nothing else. He thinks _he’s_ going to need some therapy after this.

 

**Liam**

Liam is a late bloomer. That’s what he’s always told himself, as well as what all the adults in his life have always said. While all his friends got the initials on their arms over a decade ago, he’s still here with blank arms. Sometimes he thinks maybe it just means he’s meant to be alone. He’s heard about some people online who are in their 70s or 80s and still have yet to get any initials on their arms, but they’re happy. They’re more than happy in fact, they adore not dating/marrying anyone. Liam once read one of these people say that they are their own soulmate. He thought that was so adorable.

However, Liam doesn’t _want_ to be alone forever. He likes the idea of being with someone. So in their freshman year in high school a few years ago, when Harry found Liam and the L.P. initials on his arm started beating quickly, it gave Liam hope. Liam and Harry are in college now though and even though he adores him and isn’t planning to leave him anytime soon, he still wishes H.S. would show up on one of his arms so he knows for certain this really is meant to be.

Liam sighs, turning to face Harry. They’re both in Liam’s bedroom right now and they were playing video games and watching movies a few minutes ago, but now they’re just kind of laying around – Liam on his bed, Harry on the couch – and thinking.

“What’s wrong?” Harry immediately asks, turning around on the couch so he’s facing Liam.

Liam really doesn’t want to bother Harry with his thoughts because Harry’s probably annoyed with him talking about this by now, but Liam also just can’t find it in himself to lie to his boyfriend, so he exhales. “It’s just that… I love you so much Harry. I really do. And I’m glad my initials are on your arm. But I just wish that I could get some sort of sign that this is really meant to be. I’m tired of waiting for the day I’ll see ‘H.S.’ on my arm and know that you’re my soulmate. I just want it to happen now.”

He starts crying, head in his lap now, and hears footsteps, then feels Harry sitting down next to him and embracing him. “Liam, look at me.” Liam puts his head up to face him, even though it’s hard to do. “Listen. You don’t need some mark on your skin to tell you that this is meant to be, alright? You know why?” Liam shakes his head. “Because I love you. And no matter what your skin does or doesn’t say, I know you love me too. And I know we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.”

“Easy for you to say,” Liam presses on. “You got like four initials for some reason. I got zero.”

“Yes,” Harry agrees. “I got four initials because the gods probably wanted to give me a choice. And I chose you.”

“Only because you’ve never even met the other ones,” Liam mutters.

“Even if I do,” Harry assures him, “nobody can ever be as good as you. I know it.” He silences Liam’s attempts to protest more by putting their lips together.

When they pull apart, Liam can’t help but smile. Harry smiles back at him, and it makes him realize that Harry’s right. Why should he worry so much about something as simple as marks on his skin? What really matters is that the man sitting in front of him loves him, has always loved him, and will always love him. All he really needs to know that is the look on Harry’s face.

“Now come on,” Harry says, breaking the silence. “Let’s go do something fun.”

“Like what?” Liam questions. “We’ve already watched your favorite movie a million times and as much as I like it, it’s seriously time to take a break for now.”

Harry gives him an angry face, but quickly changes back to happy. “Come on, we’re gonna go watch football. It’s our team vs. my pen pal’s team.”

Liam rolls his eyes. “You’ve been waiting on that pen pal to show up to a game for like ever, Harry. And he never does. Don’t you think it’s time to let it go?”

“No, he’s gonna show this time. I’m sure of it.”

Liam sighs, resigned, and follows Harry out the door. Harry and this guy named Louis have been chatting online for about two years now – they met each other via a video game forum - and even though at first Liam thought it was cute the way Harry really wanted to meet him in the flesh, it’s grown annoying now, and frankly, pretty sad. Ever since Louis said he played for the Doncaster Rovers, Harry has been dragging Liam with him to every football game that the Rovers will be playing against their home team at. No matter what though, Louis never shows. Gotta admire Harry’s persistence though, Liam thinks to himself.

When Liam and Harry get to the stadium, their seats aren’t that great. It’s hard to make out most of the players. They can still see well enough though, and cheer every time their team scores a goal.

A few minutes into the game, Liam and Harry’s jaws drop. The announcer calls out a name that Liam has never heard at one of these games before now – “Louis Tomlinson scores for the Doncaster Rovers.”

Harry suddenly screams happily, making several people on their side look up at him with angry faces. Liam carefully puts one of his hands over Harry’s mouth to shush him, and apologizes to the people around them. “Harry,” he hisses. “Get a grip. I don’t want to get mobbed while I’m here, thank you very much.”

“Sorry,” Harry whispers back. Then he whisper-yells, “but it’s him Liam. It’s really him. He’s here.”

“I know,” Liam responds. “I’m so happy for you.” He really means it too. He just wishes Harry would stay quiet about it for the rest of the game for both their sakes.

After the game’s over – Doncaster won, and it’s obvious Harry is trying very hard to hide his happiness about that on their way out of the stands – Harry and Liam head down towards the field and go to sneak into the dressing rooms.

“Can’t you just text him and tell him you’re here instead of going through all this trouble?” Liam asks.

“Yeah,” Harry agrees. “But where would the fun in that be?”

Liam shakes his head, but follows Harry anyway. “How are you going to do this exactly? Don’t you need like an ID of a janitor or sponsor or something?”

“Or,” Harry says. “We sneak through the roof.”

Liam doubts Harry even knows how to do that, but he follows him anyway. They climb to the top of the roof, and Liam’s surprised nobody notices because this place has to have a ton of security cameras all around it, not to mention the fans leaving. Still, somehow they miraculously make it through the roof and land in what appears to be a broom closet.

When they get out of it and finally get into the dressing room, they find find Louis amidst all the shirtless guys from the team (which Liam would be lying if he said he didn’t find fun to look at). Harry then is the first to speak. “Louis! It’s really y-”

When Louis turns around though, they both freeze. There, on Louis’ arms, are all of the same initials Harry has on his – L.P., N.H., and Z.M. – except the ‘L.T.’ that’s on Harry’s arm is replaced with ‘H.S.’

 

**Louis**

Louis has been looking forward to this day for a long time. After two years of texting, Skyping, writing, and doing everything in between, all he’s wanted to do is hug and talk to Harry face to face. However, he did not expect it to happen in this situation, in the dressing room with him shirtless and wet from the shower he just took.

“Hey!” the coach walks up to the three of them all of a sudden. “How did you two get in here?”

“It’s okay,” Louis tells him all at once with a smile. “They’re with me.”

The coach looks back and forth between the three of them and sighs, walking away.

Louis turns back to face the two boys. In all the times he’s planned this in his head over the years, he definitely did not expect the stunned expressions on Harry and Liam (who he knows from the way Harry’s talked about him adoringly for so long)’s faces.

Now, Louis is used to starstruck faces. After all his years of being part of this football team, he’s gotten used to people coming up and asking him for a picture or an autograph, and he loves it. Loves that he gets to inspire so many people and make their day just by giving them a hug. However, he does not love the fact that Harry, who has known him for two years now, and his boyfriend, who has to know about their friendship by now, are looking at him like that.

Suddenly, he feels extremely self-conscious. His heart starts beating fast, and it seems to trail to his arms as well. He hopes he doesn’t smell bad. Then he remembers the fact that he just showered not too long ago, and therefore shouldn’t smell bad. Maybe Harry and Liam just think he’s ugly. He frowns. He doesn’t want them to think he’s ugly, especially when they’re just meeting in person for the first time.

“Umm… I’ll be right back.” Louis walks to the bathroom and changes into actual clothes, fixing his hair a little bit as well. He hopes he at least looks presentable now. He doesn’t want Liam or especially Harry finding him ugly. When he walks back over, Liam and Harry are whispering to each other. Soon Louis’ frown changes to a look of anger instead. He sighs. “Listen, I’m sorry I’m ugly alright? I never look my best after I’ve been playing.”

That seems to turn the other two boys back to reality. Harry immediately looks at him like he’s lost his mind. “What? No. You’re beautiful, actually.” Louis perks up at that, although he still wants to know why they were looking so freaked out earlier because it didn’t look like they were taken aback by his beauty. Louis is slightly taken aback by their beauty though. He wonders where Liam got muscles like that. He stops himself from thinking about that though because Liam is Harry’s boyfriend and Louis would never want to come between that.

Liam lightly slaps Harry. “Hey. Come on Liam. I’m allowed to find other people attractive. I saw you staring at the other shirtless boys in this dressing room.”

Liam’s cheeks turn red and Louis laughs. “Well, what are you two still over there for? Come here, give me a hug.” They oblige, Harry going first and Liam going second. Harry holds on longer than Liam does, and it makes sense because the two of them have been friends longer than Louis and Liam have.

Louis would be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed both of those hugs didn’t last longer though. He clears his throat, pushing those thoughts away. “So, umm… what do you say I get my stuff together and we go out to get something together?”

Harry frowns. “Don’t you have to go back home now?”

“Psh,” Louis waves his hand, then bends down so only Harry and Liam can hear him. “The coach doesn’t care. As long as I come back home in time for the next game, which isn’t until two weeks from now, it’s all good.”

Harry smiles and darn it if it isn’t one of the cutest smiles Louis’ ever seen. “Sounds good to me. I’m going to show you all of the best tourist-y places while you’re here.”

Louis shakes his head fondly, suddenly not even caring about the weird start the three of them had a few minutes ago.

 

**Harry**

It has to be a coincidence, he keeps telling himself that night. It just _has_ to be. How can it be anything but a coincidence? It would make no sense otherwise. People are supposed to only have one soulmate, and his is Liam, right? So why is it that the ‘L.T.’ initials on his arm started beating in rhythm with his heart when he saw Louis’ face? Actually, if it’s really supposed to mean him, why didn’t it do that whenever he received a letter or a text or something from Louis in these past two years? It doesn’t make any sense.

“I thought you said that the gods were giving you a choice,” Liam had told him earlier after their dinner with Louis ended. “Well now you’ve seen one of the other candidates, so now you have another person you can choose from. Me or Louis.”

Harry had glared at him because they both knew what Harry had said about the gods giving him a choice was a pile of rubbish; something he only said to make Liam feel better. Harry still loves Liam. He doesn’t know how he can’t after spending so many years of their lives together.

However, he has to admit to himself that he loves Louis too. Maybe not in the same way as Liam because he hasn’t known Louis as long, but Louis definitely reminds him of how he felt when he first saw Liam in high school, crush developing. He thinks that can’t be possible though, because people can’t love two people at the same time, can they?

At 4 AM, after not being able to get any sleep at all, he finally decides he’s had enough. He goes onto his laptop and searches for local couples therapists. There’s no way he can figure this out on his own, and talking to Liam anymore about it is definitely out of the question. He finds a therapist office relatively close by that looks promising and starts typing up an email.


	2. Chapter 2

**Niall**

Niall tries to keep his head on straight. It’s hard though. So he learned that polyamory is a thing – good, great. He’s glad he’s not alone as far as the whole ‘multiple soulmates’ thing goes. However, he can’t allow one of those soulmates to be one of his clients. It’s not fair to him or Zayn. If they ever _did_ actually start dating, there would be a ton of power imbalances to break, and that’s not healthy.

He decided to take today off so he had some time to think, but it’s made him more stressed than he was before, if that’s even possible. Suddenly, he knows what he has to do. It’s not going to be easy, but it has to be done.

***

That following Monday, Zayn walks into his office and sits down in the chair just like he did last week. Niall’s almost surprised if he’s honest. Judging by the way he left so awkwardly and suddenly last week, Niall had thought for sure he wasn’t coming back and maybe he wouldn’t have to do this. Still, he’s here now, so Niall swallows his pride and attempts to smile. “Hey. Thank you for coming in today. I know our first session was great, but I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to be your therapist anymore.”

Zayn frowns, and Niall wishes he could look away. “What?”

“I um…” he clears his throat, trying really hard to be professional about this. “I’d be happy to recommend another therapist to you and help you transition to them.”

“Is this a joke?” Now Zayn looks like he’s about to start crying, and it makes Niall’s heart hurt. “You’re the best therapist I’ve ever had. I… I can’t lose you.”

“But we haven’t even actually talked about your problems yet, just your interests,” Niall points out. It’s probably the wrong thing to say, but it’s the truth.

“Well you know what my problem is right now? You. The second I trust you, you cut me out and for no good reason.”

His words feel like knives. “Zayn, you don’t understand. There’s more to this than you think.”

“Then tell me,” Zayn demands. “Nobody ever tells me anything, they just toss me aside for no reason and expect me to just live with it.” Niall almost wants to laugh because this is the exact kind of thing he was hoping to address with Zayn that very first day, but the fact that it’s all coming out in this situation makes it hurt. “Tell me. Come on.”

Niall wants to, he really wants to, but it’s very unprofessional to admit to a client you love them. When Zayn scoffs and starts walking towards the door though, Niall finally gives in. “I love you.”

Zayn turns back around slowly. “What?”

Niall pulls up his left sleeve all at once and motions to the Z.M. initials, which are pulsing very hard and fast like his heart. “Zayn, this is you. I can’t be your therapist anymore because you’re one of my soulmates.”

Zayn’s mouth is wide open. He pulls up one of his own sleeves and there are the initials “N.H.” pulsing with his heart beat as well. The two of them just stand there for a few moments, staring blankly at each other, but then Zayn walks back over to Niall’s desk.

“I… I had thought I saw those initials on your arm when I hugged you last week. As well as ‘L.T.’ on the other one.” He then pulls up his other sleeve and reveals an L.T. is on his other arm as well. Niall exhales. So that’s why he left so awkwardly last week. “All this time I thought it was just a birth defect… So when I saw your arms I was confused...”

“I know,” Niall says. “I thought it was a birth defect on me too for the longest time. But then my mum told me about this thing called ‘polyamory’ which basically means you have more than one soulmate and you love them the same amount.” Zayn stares at him like he’s holding onto his every word. “I’m still not exactly sure how it works, but I’d love to at least start a friendship with you outside of this place and figure it out together.”

Zayn nods, still starstruck by this information. Niall gives him his non-work phone number, and Zayn does the same. “Well umm…” Niall clears his throat. “I’ll see you around, Zayn.”

“Yeah, you too,” Zayn agrees. He then walks out the door, slowly but surely, and Niall exhales. He’s so glad that’s over with, and you know what? It’s going to be okay. He’s not sure how, but he knows it’s going to be. Maybe not today, but it will be, with time.

Someone knocks on the door and when he tells them to come in, it’s the receptionist. “Is everything alright, Mr. Horan?”

Niall smiles genuinely. “Everything’s perfect.”

The receptionist smiles as well. “I’m glad. Are you ready for your next patient?”

For the first time in what feels like forever (even though it’s only been a week), he is. “Send them in.”

 

**Harry**

“You know I gotta say,” the couple’s therapist named Marvin says. “Usually I meet with both people in the couple at the same time instead of just one.” He raises his eyebrow at Harry.

“Yeah well,” Harry shrugs. “There’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?”

“I guess so…” Marvin tries. “Anyway, can you tell me why you’re here?”

Harry isn’t sure how much to reveal and how much not to reveal, but he doesn’t even really know this guy and it’s not like anything he says is going to be read to Liam and Louis. He breathes in. “I’m here because… well, let me start from the beginning. Liam and I have been dating since freshman year in high school. We’re in college now and still going strong. And I don’t have any plans to leave him but…” Harry sighs. “There’s this other guy named Louis who I met online two years ago. We’re very close friends, and we finally met in the flesh a few days ago. He’s still here, we’re gonna do something later. It’s just… I don’t get it. It’s like I love him as much as I love Liam now that I’ve seen him in the flesh. My heart does the same jumps and everything. I don’t understand how I can love both of them at the same time…”

Marvin thinks for a moment. “Have you brought this up with either of them?”

“No,” Harry responds. “Why would I? They’d both hate me forever.”

“Well,” Marvin says. “Relationships of all kinds, romantic and otherwise, don’t work without communication. If you’re thinking about leaving Liam, you should talk to him about your concerns first.”

Harry looks at him like he just shot him in the chest. “What do you mean, thinking about leaving Liam? I don’t wanna leave Liam. He’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

“But you also have feelings for this Louis person?”

“Yeah, that’s what I just said.” Harry’s angry now. He thought therapists were supposed to _listen_ and tell their patients what to do, not make them feel dumb.

“Well, you know, there’s a saying: if you love two people at the same time, choose the second person. Because if you really loved the first one, you wouldn’t have fallen for the second.”

If his words earlier felt like being shot in the chest, those words feel like what Harry can only imagine dying would feel like. “You’re not going to sit here and tell me I don’t really love Liam. You – you can’t do that to me. Call me names, make fun of me, whatever. But never tell me I don’t really love Liam.”

Marvin stares blankly at him for a few moments, which only makes Harry’s mood worsen by the second. “But you also love Louis.”

“Oh my gosh!” Harry yells. “I just said that. Are you even a therapist or are you just trying to make me feel dumb?!” At this point he’s ready to just bolt out the door and not give Marvin any money. He should to be honest.

“Are you thinking about both of them right now?” Marvin asks.

“Obviously,” Harry says, rolling his eyes. How did this guy even get this job?

“Show me your arms,” Marvin tells him gently.

It’s such a simple request, one he knew was coming, but he’s so angry right now he almost doesn’t want to. “Why? So you can laugh at me again?”

Marvin smiles, and it’s the ugliest smile Harry has ever seen, he just wants to slap it off his face. If for no reason other than to get out of here as soon as possible though, he pulls his sleeves up all the way and shows Marvin all four initials on his arms – the L.T. and L.P. ones beating rapidly.

Suddenly, Marvin’s mouth is hanging open and Harry wants to laugh at how shocked he is. Finally, after making Harry feel dumb and saying he doesn’t really love Liam, now _Marvin’s_ the one probably feeling dumb. Finally, he speaks. “How long have you had those initials there?”

Harry scoffs. “I don’t know, as long as most people have had them I guess. Since I was like eight.”

“That’s… that’s impossible though. People are only supposed to have one soulmate. Yet it would seem that both Liam and Louis, as well as these other people, are your soulmates. That can’t be possible.”

Harry smiles and gets up. “Wow, thanks for not helping at all. Have a nice life and I won’t be paying for this. Bye.”

He doesn’t even bother waiting for Marvin to reply, he just walks straight out the door without looking back. So even a couple’s therapist thinks he’s broken. Maybe, maybe he is. Maybe he’s broken and there’s no way to fix him. He knows one thing for sure though: Marvin is wrong. He does love Liam. He also loves Louis. He needs to fight whatever this thing is though, because it’s not fair to any of them for him to love both romantically. He breathes in and out, trying not to cry even if this is a therapy institute.

Suddenly he realizes he has no clue where he’s even going, and before he can turn around or anything, he bumps into someone. Someone with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a red shirt, and they obviously work here. “Sorry-” he starts, both of them on the floor. He looks down at his arms, still open from when he was talking to Marvin, and gasps. The N.H. initials are beating with his heart.

 

**Liam**

Of all the places for Harry to run off to – a library, a music store, a restaurant – the very last thing Liam would’ve expected is a therapy office. Yet, here he is watching Harry on the floor in one of the hallways in the institute, looking like he’s seen a ghost after running into someone.

Earlier, when Liam tried to call Harry and he didn’t answer, he had assumed he’d gone to show Louis more tourist-y stuff, but when he called Louis, Louis said he hadn’t seen him. Liam hates whenever Harry leaves somewhere without telling him, or just hangs around his house and doesn’t answer Liam’s calls. Liam decided to check and see if it was the second one, but when he went to Harry’s room, it was empty.

Liam probably shouldn’t have done what he did next, but he walked over to Harry’s computer and decided to look at what he had up to see if that would give any clues. There was an email telling him he had an appointment today with a couple’s therapist a few minutes away. Liam’s heart had sunk. Why would Harry go to a couple’s therapist without Liam, the one he’s dating? He decided to call up Louis and drive the two of them to the office to see if they could find out what was going on.

Of course, the people at the front desk wouldn’t tell them anything (something about a code of secrecy or whatever), so they started looking around instead. After a few minutes of looking, they found him, but before they could say anything he bumped into one of the employees, and now he’s gasping for air. Liam thinks knowing that he and Louis are here will only add to whatever this is, so the two of them stay still and quiet.

“Woah, woah, woah,” the employee says, trying to calm Harry down. “What-what’s wrong?”

“Thi-this is you,” Harry sputters, and Liam has to turn his head a little, but then he sees Harry pointing at the ‘N.H.’ initials on his arm, fingers shaking.

The employee, N.H.’s mouth is open now as they uncover their own sleeves and there, beating up and down like Liam’s seen Harry’s ‘L.P.’ do many times, are H.S., L.P., and L.T. (and a Z.M. sitting there in place.)

Suddenly everything in Liam freezes and he feels like he’s going to be sick. Is that why Harry’s here? Slowly but surely, Harry and N.H. turn around to face Liam and Louis and yep, he’s definitely feeling sick now. His head is hurting all at once and the area around him is fading quickly, until finally he can’t see or feel anything.

“Liam? Liam?” he’s woken up several minutes later, now out of the therapy office and instead in Harry’s room on his bed. Harry and Louis are at his side, looking at him concerned. “Are – are you okay?” Harry asks slowly.

He definitely doesn’t feel okay emotionally or mentally, but he is physically and he’s pretty sure that’s what Harry meant. He sighs. “Yeah, I’m… I’m alright.” Suddenly he notices someone else is there – N.H. from the office. Liam sits up a little too quickly. “What are you doing here?”

N.H.’s face goes red. Harry comes to the rescue though. “He just wanted to make sure you’re alright. And Liam,” he sighs. “We have some things to talk about.”

“Yeah, we do,” Liam says angrily. “Like how come you’re going to couple’s therapy without me? Is there something you’re not telling me? We’ve been together for years now and you can’t even be honest with me?”

The look on Harry’s face is sad and it makes Liam feel guilty and want to take it all back, but he needs to stay strong. If Harry’s questioning their relationship because of Louis or whoever N.H. is, they need to discuss it now. “Liam,” Harry says. “It’s not like that at all. I love you. I do. But the thing is, I also love Louis. And Niall too.” He motions to N.H., still standing awkwardly in the background.

“What do you mean?” Liam cries. “How can you love him in addition to me? You only just met him today.”

Niall, apparently not being able to handle watching this anymore, decides to carefully walk towards the bed Liam’s on. He better keep his distance, or else Liam may just kick him. Niall clears his throat. “It’s called polyamory.”

Liam itches his ear. “What?” He’s never even heard of that word before. Is it supposed to make him feel better or something? Because he still feels like kicking everyone in this room.

Niall breathes in, looking like he’s trying to think of the best way to explain this. “Polyamory is when you have more than one soulmate. I didn’t think it was a thing for the longest time but…” he sniffs “…then my mum told me about it and I realized I wasn’t ridiculous for having four initials on my arm. Most people have only one, but there are plenty of people out there who have at least two soulmates. They’re polyamorous people.”

Liam looks at him like he’s lost his mind. “Are you sure you’re not just making up this load of garbage so you can try to steal my boyfriend?”

“Liam,” Harry tries. “I know it’s weird. I know it’s going to take some getting used to. But whatever it is, it’s gotta be true. I love you, and I love these two boys too, even though I haven’t known them as long. That’s gotta mean something. It must mean they’re in our lives for a reason, that we’re all soulmates.”

Harry’s smiling sadly, but Liam isn’t going to let that sad smile change his mind, which is now made up. “Yeah,” Liam says, getting up. “I’ll tell you what it means Harry. It means that obviously the two of us aren’t meant to be.”

“Liam, how c-”

“Seems to me, you’ve got plenty of other options for people to be part of your little ‘polyamory’ or whatever. But I don’t wanna be a part of it anymore.”

Harry’s got tears in his eyes and looks like he’s about to cry. “Liam, don’t-”

It’s too late though. Liam’s already out the door and heading back to his own car, which they apparently drove him here in. As he starts it up and pulls away from Harry’s house, he almost wants to go back and say he didn’t mean any of it and he’s sorry, but he can’t.

If Harry can literally say that he loves a guy he just met in addition to supposedly loving Liam, who he’s been dating since high school, then obviously he isn’t worthy of Liam’s time. If it’s that simple to fall for someone you just met, maybe Liam will go out and meet someone and say he loves them after five seconds together. It’s only fair.

As he drives back to his own house, he realizes he has no clue what he’s going to do with himself without Harry.

 

**Louis**

When Harry had said he wanted Louis to stick around for a few days to check out the tourist-y attractions, having Harry’s boyfriend leave him after a good nine years together and Louis staying to comfort him about it was definitely not on the to-do list. Still, not wanting to be a jerk, he stays and makes some tea for Harry while Niall tries to read him stories off his bookshelves and computer, carefully avoiding ones about breaking up.

Louis is still thinking about what Niall said about “polyamory”. It’s good to finally have a word for what he’s felt to be honest. He hates that it had to scare Liam off, but he’s glad that he’s not alone. He remembers always being confused when he was younger about having four initials on his arms and other people only having one.

However, he had never let it change him. He never gave up T-shirts, or going to the swimming pool and beach where everyone always stared at his arms while he was tanning. He just didn’t care what other people thought, and still doesn’t.

Sure, when he first joined the Rovers and his coach asked him about it, he was a little insecure, but his coach had just shrugged it off because “as long as you play well, I couldn’t care less what your arms look like.”

That’s when he had known he was meant for that team. Sure, some of his teammates would occasionally have something to say, but they quickly learned to back off. Louis has always been that way: not having time for people who question him.

Still, despite all his not caring what other people think, he’s always wanted to know what exactly it means. He tried thinking up theories as to why a few times, but none of them sounded right. He’s so thankful that someone has finally helped him figure out the meaning of it all.

He didn’t want to say anything because Liam and Harry were joined at the hip (and he’s definitely not going to say it now that Harry’s crying over Liam), but ever since that first day when Liam and Harry came into the dressing room, he’s fallen for both of them. Not just as friends either, but as something more. Now that they’ve met Niall too, he also feels the same way about him.

So when Harry said that thing about loving the three of them, it made Louis feel… happy (beneath the guilt about coming between him and Liam). His happiness is overshadowed by Harry’s suffering though. As well as his own – Liam was his soulmate too, and he really does love him.

He brings the cup of tea over to where Harry is laying on the bed and hands it to him. Harry takes it and says “thank you” through his tears.

“No problem,” Louis responds, and watching Harry lay there in tears just makes him more and more sad. He doesn’t like seeing Harry this way. He and Liam have had their fights, but as far as Louis’s been told, they’ve always either worked it out or agreed to disagree because they couldn’t stay mad at each other forever. Will they work it out this time? Will Liam come back to them? He bites his lip, trying not to think about it. “Is there something we can do to make you feel better?”

Harry shakes his head. “Honestly I think you two should just go. Umm… Niall, come here.” Niall stops reading the story he was reading, closes out of the webpage, and walks over to him. “I want you to put your number in my phone, and I’ll give you my number as well. Even if… Liam doesn’t come back-” his voice breaks. “I… I umm… still want to talk to you because you seem like a nice person.”

Niall nods, probably unable to say anything when looking at Harry in that position. He takes Harry’s phone and types in his phone number, and Harry does the same on Niall’s. Louis also gets Niall’s number and puts his number in Niall’s phone.

Harry wipes his eyes and looks back and forth between the two of them. “Yeah, I… I think you two should go. I... I’ll call you or something at some point, but right now I need to be left alone.”

The two boys nod silently and Louis feels like he should say something else, but he isn’t sure what’s good enough, so he just walks towards the door, Niall closely behind him, and silently hopes Harry and Liam (because no matter what he says he has to be hurting right now too) will be okay. Liam has to come back, he just has to.

 

**Zayn**

“I don’t understand, Zayn,” his mom says after he tells her he won’t be seeing Niall as a therapist anymore. “I thought you said you really liked him.”

“I do mum,” Zayn responds. “That’s why he can’t be my therapist anymore. He’s one of my soulmates.”

His mom freezes. “What do you mean ‘one of your soulmates’?”

Zayn motions to his arm. “Mum, he’s the ‘N.H.’ He’s one of my soulmates.” Zayn’s face is a wide grin, but his mom’s is one of disbelief. Zayn’s not sure how he feels about that.

“But that can’t be possible, honey,” his mom insists. “You can’t actually have more than one soulmate. Your arms were supposed to just be a birth defect.”

Zayn’s heart beats quickly, but he doesn’t judge her because that’s exactly what he thought too. “But it is possible, mum. Niall told me it’s called ‘polyamory’. I know it’s a new thing to you, it’s a new thing to me too. But it’s very real. I love him.”

His mom’s mouth just hangs open for a minute before she closes it and shakes her head. “No, no. This is impossible. I won’t allow you to think your abnormality is something that’s normal or okay. Go upstairs.”

“Wait, wha-”

“Upstairs.”

Zayn really doesn’t have to listen to her, he knows. He’s twenty five and even though he lives here, he’s old enough to say no. Still though, he obliges because he’s not good at standing up to his mom. After several minutes – possibly hours - of just staring at the ceiling, he realizes his mom isn’t going to come up. His own mother really thinks he’s broken. He understands this is a new term for a lot of people, himself included, but he can’t believe his own mother actually thinks of him as subhuman right now.

All at once, he starts crying. It can’t be this way, no. She can’t really think this way about him, can she? Apparently she can though, and after several more minutes of just sitting there and crying to himself, he takes out his phone and dials a number. “Listen, I know you’re not my therapist anymore, but I need someone to cry to. Friend to friend. Please come over.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Niall**

It seems like all Niall’s been doing today is comforting people who are crying. Which, that is his job and all in a way, but it’s so much more different and harder when it’s people you really love as friends or more, instead of clients. Zayn had told him how to sneak into his room without going through the front door. When he asked why he couldn’t just go through the front door, Zayn started crying even more.

Now that he’s here and sitting beside Zayn on his bed, he’s figured out that Zayn’s mom said something extremely saddening to him. “She said, she said it was abnormal. She’s basically saying that _I’m_ abnormal.” Niall holds Zayn close to him, Zayn crying onto Niall’s shoulder.

“You know that’s not true, right?” Niall makes Zayn look at him. “You’re not abnormal at all, okay? There are plenty of people with more than one soulmate.”

Zayn shakes his head. “You keep saying that but other than you I’ve yet to see any proof. I don’t even know if these other people even exist.”

Niall bites his lip, not sure if now is an appropriate time to tell him, but he decides to do it anyway. “They do. I met them today.”

Zayn’s taken aback. “You met them?”

“Yeah,” Niall confirms, nodding. “One of them bumped into me at the office and the two others had like snuck up on him I guess.”

“Snuck up on him?” Zayn asks, confused.

Niall shrugs. “The one I ran into – Harry – obviously didn’t tell the other two that he was going there and they didn’t like that so they went to find him.”

“What are they like?” Zayn’s face is now seemingly absolved of sadness and instead a look of genuine interest is on it. It makes Niall smile.

“Well, Harry seems very nice,” Niall says. “One of the ones who snuck up on him – Liam – has been dating him since they were in high school together, and when he found out that Harry loves me and Louis – that’s the other one who snuck up on him – in addition to Liam, he kind of lost it.”

Zayn frowns. “What do you mean?”

Niall sighs, still thinking about how sad Harry looked after Liam left. “We tried to explain to him what polyamory was and how it’s completely normal and okay, but Liam didn’t like the idea that a guy he’s dated since high school loves other people, one of whom-” Niall points to himself “-he barely even knows, in addition to him.” Niall shakes his head. “The way he looked at us, like we were just ridiculous…” Niall stops himself. He doesn’t want to cry, but he loves Liam. Even if they don’t know each other that well as of now, he wants to know Liam, wants to learn everything about him. Will he even get the chance to now though?

Zayn’s frown grows bigger and now he’s the one hugging Niall. “Is he gonna come back?”

Niall bites his lip again. “I don’t know. I hope so. Otherwise I’m afraid Harry will never be the same again. And… that none of us will ever be the same again either because we’ll _all_ be losing a soulmate, you know?”

Zayn nods sadly. “I hope so too.”

Niall stays at his house for a little while longer. They don’t talk about what Zayn’s mom said anymore; they mostly just play video games and watch movies. Niall’s surprised Zayn’s mom doesn’t attempt to come in at all, but he doesn’t say anything.

When he’s about to leave, Zayn speaks up. “Will you come back soon? And bring one of the other boys if you can?”

Niall smiles. He’s not sure if Harry will be willing to get out of bed at all, but he can’t resist how eager Zayn looks. “Of course.” They kiss each other’s lips and hug each other goodbye. Niall then exits through the secret entrance Zayn told him about through the window.

 

**Harry**

Harry will be honest; he wasn’t extremely thrilled when Niall walked through the door three days after what happened with Liam. He also wasn’t jumping up when Niall asked him to come with him to meet his ‘friend’ (Harry could tell this person is definitely more than a friend, which only made his stomach sicker because he knew it had to be the person with the Z.M. initials).

However, he’d been doing nothing but sulking in his house all day every day since Liam left, thankful they’re on break and therefore not missing any classes by staying in bed. After a few bad attempts of protesting, he decided Niall was right that he needed to get out of the house and do something fun.

He made the right choice, he thinks, because Zayn, Niall’s ‘friend’, is very sweet, calm, and caring. When Harry first got here, Zayn’s first words to him were “you’re even more beautiful than Niall said”, which resulted in blushes from both Niall and Harry. Ever since then, the three of them have just been talking in Zayn’s room and playing a few video games here and there.

“So how did you and Niall meet?” Harry asks, and he can immediately tell it’s an awkward question they don’t really want to answer. He’s not sure why though, they seem to love each other a lot.

Just as he’s about to take it back though, Zayn clears his throat. “Umm… He was like originally my therapist for one session. Then we figured out we were soulmates and have been hanging out together ever since.” Harry nods, awkwardness still hanging in the air. He understands though; you can’t choose where or how you meet your soulmate(s), as he learned colliding with Niall. “Anyway… Have you been alright?”

Now it’s Harry’s turn to feel awkward. “Umm… I’ve been okay. Why?” Zayn turns to Niall, looking for some sign that what he’s about to say is okay. Harry knows then that Niall must have told him about Liam. He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I’ve been alright. I mean, I wasn’t at first, but being here with you two has made me feel better.”

Zayn smiles and it makes Harry’s heart beat super fast. “I’m glad.” Zayn walks up to him and gives him a big hug and Harry didn’t know how much he really needed one until now. “And don’t worry,” Zayn whispers. “He’ll come back. He has to. He’s one of our soulmates after all.” When he pulls away, they smile at each other sadly and Harry really hopes he’s right. Even if he does though, it doesn’t make this in between time any easier.

Harry and Niall leave Zayn’s house a while later, Harry feeling so much better since he’s met Zayn now. He feels guilty too though, as if he’s still betraying Liam even though he’s gone. Harry’s tried to shut down his feelings for Niall, Zayn, and Louis ever since Liam left, but he can’t do it. Niall and Zayn are so sweet and caring, and Louis and Niall are so funny, and all three of them (as well as Liam) give the best hugs. How can someone not find them all perfect and not want to kiss every single one of them? Harry doesn’t know.

He hopes what Zayn said is true though, that Liam will come back soon. He has to, right? Like Zayn said, they’re soulmates. All five of them. Whether Liam wants to believe that or not, it’s true.

 

**Liam**

Liam remembers when he and Harry were in their junior year in high school: how Liam had been too nervous, even after two years together, to ask Harry to prom. However, he ended up not having to because when he got home from school that day, the job had been taken off his hands. He remembers how Harry had gone home from school early that day “for reasons” and how confused he had been at first, but as he opened the door to his room, there was Harry, sitting down on one knee, his hands holding not a ring but two prom tickets. “Liam James Payne, will you go to Prom with me?”

“Oh my gosh, Harry,” Liam immediately responded, shocked. “How long have you been in here sitting like that?”

Harry shrugs. “Don’t know, I lost count. I’d have stayed here forever for you though.”

Liam shook his head because it was just so cheesy. Harry always did the cheesiest things: from giving Liam those cliché Valentine’s Day cards everybody got in their bags in elementary school, to celebrating his birthday by giving him homemade cards that said things like ‘you twenty-WON my heart. Happy 21st birthday!’

Liam loved it though, loved every amount of cheesiness Harry would pull. Sometimes he called him his little ball of cheese. In response Harry would always say something like “only because you’re so GRATE” and Liam would roll his eyes to try and hide his smile but it never worked and they always ended up kissing.

“So is that a no?” Harry asked after a few moments of looking up at him. “Come on, my knee is getting tired.”

Liam had decided to play along this time, pulling the best fake bride-crying-happily face he could manage. “Yes, I will go to prom with you.” In classic bride-getting-proposed-to style, he then proceeded to hug him tightly and kiss him until it felt like their lips were glued together.

When they finally pulled away, Harry had giggled. “I thought _I_ was supposed to be the ball of cheese?”

Liam smirked. “Only because I’m so grate.” They had laughed and then gone downstairs to tell Liam’s mom that they were going to prom together. _She_ had definitely sobbed in that mom-of-the-bride-finding-out-her-daughter’s-engaged way.

That’s still one of Liam’s favorite memories. Of course Harry had pulled another cheesy stunt for their senior prom as well – asking him in front of the whole school during a pep rally Harry was part of – but something about Harry waiting in Liam’s room for probably hours in that same position just so he could impress him played with Liam’s heart strings and made him really believe this was all worth it and they’d last forever.

Thinking back on it now as he lays on his bed and stares at the ceiling, he wonders if he’ll ever have that with anybody else, if anybody else will make him feel like Harry did (and still does).

He sighs, getting up finally and going to put some clothes on. He can’t do this anymore. He has to go back to Harry. He’ll learn how to do this… this… ‘Polyamory’ thing, if that’s what it takes to be in Harry’s arms again. He just can’t take another day of this agony. He zips up his jeans and heads to Harry’s house.

 

**Louis**

Louis wasn’t sure he would ever see Harry’s face again after Liam ran out and Harry resorted to sulking in his room for days on end. He didn’t like that idea though. There was only a week left until Louis’ next game and even though it’s only two hours away, he was still sad because he wanted to spend every day he could with Harry (and Liam and possibly Niall) until he had to leave again.

He was about to just call it quits and go home, but today he received a call from Harry asking him to come over. A few hours later, he, Niall, Harry, and their new other soulmate Zayn, are having the time of their lives listening to a playlist they all composed together. Some songs make them dance, some make them think, but they’re having fun.

Harry’s smiling so genuinely it makes Louis smile even wider. He was convinced for a long time he wouldn’t ever see that genuine smile again. He’s so glad to be proven wrong.

Also, he loves Zayn. Which was a given since he’s one of his soulmates and all, but he just loves Zayn a lot. They really seem to get each other. From the way they both love the same sports teams to the way they both hate the same musicians, they just relate to each other a lot.

The four of them are attempting to dance together, hands in hands, when suddenly the front door opens and everybody goes quiet. The sound of everybody’s pulses are suddenly louder than the music.

 

**Zayn**

In all the times Niall has described Liam to Zayn over the last few days, he doesn’t know what he expected, but what he gets is so much better. Liam is so gorgeous, from his eyes that have such a huge amount of determination in them it makes Zayn’s heart want to burst open, to his lips that Zayn just wants to kiss over and over again, to his muscles that Zayn just wants to feel so badly.

All of these thoughts about how attractive he is are not what he should be worrying about now though, Zayn thinks, because Harry’s high school sweetheart who ran out on him is in the room now. Even though the other three of them all love Harry, Liam, and each other, none of them have known each other as long as Harry and Liam have. So Zayn stays silent, pushing away thoughts about feeling Liam’s muscles and kissing his face.

Finally, Liam clears his throat and speaks. “Listen, Harry. I’m sorry for running away from you. I’ve realized that… umm…” his voice breaks. “I… I can’t be without you, Harry. And it’s been killing me to pretend that I can, because I just can’t. I can’t be without you.”

He starts sobbing and Zayn wants to do something, but he can’t. Harry, seemingly reading his thoughts, runs over to Liam and starts to hug him. “I can’t be without you either, Liam. But I also can’t be without these other boys. Even though I haven’t known them as long as you, I need you to understand. Please, don’t leave me or us.”

Liam nods, sniffling. “That’s another thing I’ve realized as well. I was wrong to just assume that they’re bad people just because I was afraid of losing you. I mean, Louis and Niall – I think that’s your name right?” Niall nods at him. “They helped me when I was passed out and made sure I was okay. And whoever you are” Liam points to Zayn and his pulse quickens. “I don’t know you yet but since you’ve been taking care of my Harry and these other two, you have to be a good person as well.” Zayn smiles. “I’m ready to do this, whatever this is.”

Liam smiles at all of them and they all smile back, especially Harry. “I’ve missed you so much Liam,” he says, hugging him all at once. “You’re going to love all of them, I’m sure of it.”

With that, things go back to the way they were before Liam arrived. The five of them dance together, switching partners from time to time. Liam talks to them, finding out more about Zayn, Niall, and Louis.

Zayn asks to feel his muscles and Liam laughs, blushing. “Sure, babe.” He pulls up his sleeve and for a moment Zayn’s taken aback because they’re even bigger than they looked when they were covered up. He takes a moment to just stare at them in awe, which has Liam laughing even more. Finally Zayn lifts his hands up to touch Liam's muscles and he feels unworthy. They’re so smooth and soft and an embarrassingly wide smile creeps across Zayn’s face as he feels them.

Liam laughs yet again at Zayn’s smile and it’s one of the cutest laughs Zayn’s ever heard. Suddenly, as Zayn takes his hands off Liam’s muscles (slowly because he wants to savor every minute of it), something amazing happens: on Liam’s previously bare arms appears four initials – Z.M., L.T., N.H., and H.S. – all beating in rhythm with Liam’s heartbeat. Liam looks down at them with wide eyes, mouth open. A few seconds later he turns to look at all of them and starts to smile. Zayn smiles as well and in that moment he can tell they’re all thinking the same thing – this is the gods giving them a sign that this is really meant to be.

***

When Zayn gets back to his house, using the front door this time because he’s too tired to attempt to get to his room through the window, he’s immediately faced with his mom, who’s sitting on a nearby couch. He tries to pretend he doesn’t see her, to walk up to his room before another fight starts, but then she stops him.

“Zayn,” she says, her tone surprisingly calm. “I have to talk to you about something. Come over here.” He obliges, walking over to sit on a chair across from the couch she’s sitting on. She sighs. “Listen, Zayn. I won’t pretend I understand everything, alright? People in general are constantly learning new stuff every day, yeah?” Zayn nods mutely.

“So I won’t pretend I understand what this polyamory thing really is or how it works, but I do know that I’ve never seen you more happy than when you walked through that door just now. You were with them, I’m guessing?” Zayn nods again. “So again, I won’t pretend I understand it, because I don’t. But I’m willing to learn, because they make you happy, and that’s all I could ever want as a mother.”

Zayn smiles. He’s been waiting so long to hear her say those words. He goes over to hug her. “Thank you so much, mum. I love you a lot.” He kisses her cheek and she smiles back at him.

“I love you too Zayn,” she responds. “Now, go upstairs and get ready for dinner. We’re having samosas.”

Zayn smiles even wider and heads upstairs. Samosas are his favorite.


	4. Epilogue

Zayn, Liam, Niall, Harry, and Louis have been together five years now, but it feels like so much longer. After Liam and Harry graduated college, the five of them all decided to move into a house together in Doncaster. It felt a little strange at first for Zayn and Niall to not be around their parents anymore after so long, but they adjusted eventually because they had their boys.

Niall transferred to a Doncaster therapy office. Some of his clients, like Jamie, were sad he left, but he figured they’d adjust to their new therapists eventually. Even if they didn’t, he’s done the best he can and has a new life in Doncaster.

When they first moved into the house, it was hard because Louis would walk home from practice or a game being extremely stinky and Niall would always comment on it (with Harry covering his nose in the background). Louis has never been one to have time for people who judge him, so it resulted in a lot of arguments.

Disagreements also occurred from other various things like Zayn needing space sometimes and the others (mostly Louis and Niall) not understanding why he was in his room so much, or Harry and Zayn being angry at the other boys for never cooking or cleaning around here. Eventually though, they worked their problems out and understood each other’s likes and dislikes more as time went on.

It’s legal in the UK for boys to get married, but not five boys. They eventually decided that two of them should get married so they could get marriage benefits because even though the five of them have jobs, it’s nice to have marriage benefits too.

They voted on it, and Liam and Harry were the ones who got married legally. It felt right to the other three since they were the ones who knew each other the longest, but after all the time the five of them had spent together, Liam and Harry felt wrong only marrying each other when in their hearts all five of them are married. Nonetheless, they did it.

After everybody left the wedding though, the five of them went back to their house and all kissed each other, one at a time. They’re all so happy together. Their parents and friends may not all understand it, but the five of them do and that’s what matters.

“So guys,” Liam says now, turning the other four’s attention away from the various things they’re doing. “Wanna go to a romantic movie and freak everybody else in the audience out by switching who kisses who at each romantic scene?”

“It’s like you read my mind,” Zayn responds, and the five of them are off.

Sometimes Liam will think back to how this all started and thank himself for going back to Harry’s house again and discovering his three other soulmates. He sometimes wonders what would have happened if he had never come back, but he likes to think that, eventually, they would’ve found their way to each other anyway. Because in the end, it isn’t just about what your arm says or the people around you think, it’s about what you feel in your heart, what you know in your soul: that this is really meant to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you didn't mind the Lirry and that you enjoyed this fic. If you didn't like the Lirry, I'm sorry, but I hope you enjoyed the rest of it. :)


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